Automatic release collar clamp



May 17, 1949. E. N. NEC KEL AUTOMA' I'IC RELEASE COLLAR CLAMP Filed July 3, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LQQL l 25.47 W mm INVENTOR EDMUND N. NECKEL ATTORNEYS May 17, 1949.

E. N. NECKEL 2,470,516

AUTOMATIC RELEASE C OLLAR vCLAMP Filed July 5, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY 1 I )17 M W AT TO R N EYS Patented May 17, 1949 AUTOMATIC RELEASE COLLAR CLAMP Edmund N. Neckel, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 3, 1947, Serial No. 758,863

3 Claims.

This invention relates to collar clamps for shirt presses, and more particularly to a clamp which is automatically released for movement to its inoperative or idle position.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved collar clamp which is of unit form in the sense that it may be made and assembled as a distinct unit and in that form may be applied to any shirt press where the bed rises during the final pressing operation, with the assurance that the clamp will be released and move to idle position before full final pressure is applied, all without any especial attention or central operation by the operator.

Another object is to provide an improved collar clamp which is released solely by the efiect upon it of the rising collar supporting form to which the collar is secured by the clamp, thus dispensin entirely with any special motor or other operating mechanism for the purpose.

Still another object is to provide improved collar clamping mechanism which is highly efiicient in its production of the necessary motions of the clamp, first downward into general cooperative relation with the collar form and then horizontally toward it for clamping purposes, and which also is readily adjustable, over a reasonable range, to vary the degree of horizontal travel and the consequent ultimate clamping effect.

A further object is to provide improved collar clamping mechanism in which the clamp is moved into clamping engagement with the collar form to clamp the collar thereon, by over-center toggle mechanism, said toggle mechanism being of such form and being so arranged that it is capable of being manually advanced to over-center clamping position and is also retracted, across center, to clamp release position by force or motion imparted or applied directly to the clamp itself, rather than to operating mechanism or other parts connected to the toggle mechanism, thus simplifying the device and dispensing with many parts otherwise necessary.

Another object is to provide improved collar clamp mechanism which is of relatively simple form, which is capable of convenient adjustment, which is manually applied and automatically released, which may be made and applied in unit form without necessity of providin a separate operating motor or mechanical operating connections to other press parts, which is reliable and eflicient in operation, and which is sturdy and not liable to get out of order in service.

Further objects of the invention in part are obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, showing the collar clamping mechanism applied to a shirt press, with the clamp in open or release position;

2 Fig. 2 is a plan view; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the clamping mechanism, the view being taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, on the line 44,'

Fig. 2, showing the clamp in intermediate position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, on a larger scale, showing the clamp fully applied; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating the paths of travel involved in clamp operation, and also showing the press bed raised to full pressure relation with the head.

The invention may be used with or embodied in any shirt ironing or pressing machine in which the final pressure effect is produced by upward motion of the bed toward the head. Good examples of such presses are those shown in Patents Nos. 2,082,913, granted June 8, 1937, to John P. Singiser, for Operating and control mechanism for pressing machines, and 1,129,161, granted February 23, 1915, to Gottlob Binder, for Ironin machine.

For convenience, and in no sense of limitation, the drawings show a pressing machine comprising a stationary frame 10 on which is pivotally mounted upon a horizontal axis a lever ll supporting a hollow, heated head I2 provided with a recess l3 at one end shaped to fit around the shirt neck band or collar and the block upon which it is shaped.

The neckband former or block is indicated at I4. It is mounted upon a padded bed or buck 15 carried by a post [5a vertically slidable in the frame In. The shirt to be ironed, shown in dotdash lines at l6, Fig. 1, is dressed upon the padded bed with its neckband or collar surrounding the block or former l'4. Then the head is swung down to aposition in close neighboring relation with the bed, where it is held solidly against upward thrust, whereupon the bed is caused to rise, carrying the shirt into contact with the head (if it is not already there), and applying full ironing pressure, after which the press is opened in the usual manner.

The head and bed may be operated in any suitable manner, either manually or by power mechanism such as shown in said patents, the specific form of which is of no importance and forms no part of the present invention, which relates entirely to the collar or work clamp and its manner of operation now to be described.

The collar clamp and its operatin and control mechanism are so designed that they may be made up and assembled on the bench in unit form ready for application either to a new press or to an old one already in use. All parts are mounted upon a base in the form of a bracket I! having a split collar I8 by means of which it may be secured to an arm [9 attached to a part of the 3 press frame II). By adjustment of the bracket around and along the arm the clamp readily may be mounted in appropriate workin'gsrelation with the neckbaaid'formerand'press bed with which it cooperates.

Bracket I1 extends upwardly from the arm I8,

its upper end being bifurcated to provide. two.

parallel arms 20, 2|, in alined bosses of 'whichis journalled a cross shaft 22..orriwhichis1fiXedly: mounted a bell crank member 23.: This is prorvided with depending side arms 2 which"are=- pivotally mounted at 24a the side-. arms.-25iof ayoke 26, to the cross bar of which is adjustably connected, as by a threaded joint at 2T, a--bent' rod 28 supporting the curved plate metal collar clamp and shield 29. A lock-nutfiil holds the rod firmly; in any. position .toiwhich .it may beadjustedi.

One side arm 25 (at the right in Fig. 3) is extendediat 31; the extension. being provided with a step can 32.-which inreleasefpositionof the clamp (Fig. 1) engages a rubber or other yielding bump er.-3-3-conr.the-bracket, thus limiting release motion of the clamp, and which-iinoperating position (Figs lies opposite-thewendnof an adjustable releaserabutment-or trigger devicevin the form ofnascrewtd, later. referred to.

Bell crank member 23 is alsoi'provided with two arms-35. w. which is .-pivotally connected-at 35a (Fig; 3.): one end of an-eyeboltor rod' 36, the opposite end-.of. which passes through a sleeve. block. 31 having; a pin 33 a: .pivotall-y mounted. in. a rocker-arm 3fl=fastenedto a'shaft 39 journalledin thoxside arms 2| of bracket I1, said shaftxbeing. provided :on-r its. outer end: with a hand crank lll b-yymeansof which the operator manipulates the mechanism... Another. part of rocker 38 is bent laterally to form an ear 4| in which is. adjustably mounted. arr abutment screw. azldesignedto form atstop, limitin-gmotion. of the eyezbolt 35 beyond. dead-center, as will later appear.

Eye. 100117.36, on one side'of block 31, is pro-'- vided \Witha compression spring43; the tension of whichmay be adjusted bynuts Mi, and on the other side: Of=-.thB"b1OCk1 with two lockin-uts 45. Adjustment of the several nuts permits the effecttive lengthof rod SBtobe increasedor diminished. Sinceithisrod 36-.cooperates with rockerarm 58 as atoggle; the. two. members of which are.-pivot-all-y connected at the knuckle pin 3m, the" adjustment enables .thevamount: of-. horizontal travel of. the clamp, aiter-itconta-cts the'bed', tobe-lengthened or. shortened, thus to set it nicelyand. maintain it in correct relationto the coll-arblock and". chest, and-with.the-desired clamping-effect, in the press to which the mechanism. is. applied:.

A link 46= pivotal-1y connects the: ear. M to "an arm .41 .pivotally mountedin. the-sidearm- .2 c, said arm-.41. haVing-alug 48in which the abutment release screw 34, before mentioned;is adjustable:

Goinglbacks to the bell. crank member. 23 this is: provided. with upper. and lower ears -49, 5i}; the-upperof which forms-a perch for a'compressionspring 5 I .the lower end. .of which rests on an.ear.-52 .carried by onerof the side arms of yoke- 26.

A clamp retracting tension-spring 53 connects pins 54,. 55, oneon the bell crank member and; the other. serving as.-.the shafton or with which arm 4 Ttums.

The operation isas follows:

With. the-- press open, asin Fig. l, the operator first applies a.shirt-- to the bed, as shownin. dot and..'dash. lines. at. l 6. With .a. detachable. collar shirt,.the neckbandsurrounds the block. or .form-a er, and the collar of an attached turn down collar shirt stands up above the block, as shown.

The-parts of the collar: clamp are the positions shownt-inF'ig. 1. The. clamp. is .iniully retracted or release position, with its ear 32 held against the bumper 33 by the biasing tension of spring 53. Ears 52, 50 are held in contact by the compressionspring 5|. The toggle is broken, with the-knuckle pin.'3la.- considerably to the right of dead center. Handle 4%] lies in position A.

Now, the operator applies the clamp by grasping thehandle 4i] andturning it clockwise to position B, moving the parts first to the position shown in Fig. 4-. Toggle arm 38 pulls down on toggle rod 36, which turns bell crank member 23 clockwise and brings the clamp down to a position upon and contacting with the-shirt, just in front of the collar; Since the clamp rod. 28 turns with; mem ber 23 about the centerofshaft 22, andsaid shaft lies at about the level of the collar wings, the edge of the clamp follows the dotted path D,Eig. l, first moving downward and tothe right, andtherr downward? and to the left, coming to resta'short distance from the collar.

Advance-motion; of. handle mills continued. to. positionC, Fig. 5. The eiiect isto turn bell crank: member23 still more; but since clamp29 cannot move down itrnow slides along," the bed tozthe-lef-t into clamping engagement with the: collar and formuntil the motion isterminated by engagement of' rod 36* with theend of stop screw 42,: which. has been brought into active-I'position by: therturning ofrocker arm 38; The knuckle ofthe toggle; pin 31a, has'also moved beyond dead center, to wit, to a-posi-tionbeyond a line joining-the cen-tersat 39, 35w,.but it can: go no further. Spring supporting lug. 52 has moved away-from lug58 and spring 5| isfurther a compressed. Trigger screw. El i-ism cocked position and its end lies'opposite and close to the ear 32 on the-extendedarm of the clamp: supporting yoke: Spring 43\has..beerr compressed on account of the over-travel-o-f crank 38 after motion ofbell-crank'fi isstoppedb-yieny gagement of the clamp. with .-the -collar blookl and compression. of spring. 5.5, All rpartscomewtorest with. the collar or' neckbandn firmly; clamped against .thevcollar-bloclo- The operator now proceeds-with dressing; or arranging the lay. of the shirtupon the: board, pullin-gdown the shirt front and. arrangingthose parts adjacent theblock, as is-usuah Next thepress is closedfor the ironing opera! tion. before stated. this is. a: two-step Diroe ceed-ing'. The head ais..-fi1st swung downor low eredsfromits openeposition, ,Fig. 1, to: its closed position, Fig. 5, where it is slightly; above-thesbed or. at-least is in. a position shortiof 'full' pressure: engagement therewith Herei-the 'headstops and is .held rigidly, in theusualmanner; Theibed. now rises to apply the work to thehead with (full. ironing-pressure. It is this upwardbed motiorrwhrich releases. the work clamp.

As the bed rises, it carries the:'clamp,-.-with: it; as. indicated. by the dot-dash lines P; Fig; 5.. This turns-the clam-p yoke' 25- counterclockwiserabout the pivotz2 ia, andtheyokeextensiorr lugiorzeanzfl becomeseffective upon thecocked ztrigger screw 34 and moves the-same and stop; lever 4-1 oniwhieli it is mounted. clockwise; Lin-k .46-transmits: this motion to rocker arm 38 :and swings *thBelOWEI'BYIde of eye bolt 36 back over center, thus unlocking; or breaking the toggle mechanisms. Spring;..53 now becomes-effectiveto retractthe clamp. to tfulll release or open. position;

It will: be. observed that: when I the.-- clamping member is rising with the bed it rotates about pivotal axis 240.. This, plus the inertia of the clamp rod and shield plate, and their upwardly inclined position', causes the clamp to begin its return motion along a modified path, as shown in Fig. 6. Here, E is the path of travel about pivot 2 3a and D the path about pivot 22. F is the composite return path due to the influences referred to, which allows the clamp to first clear the head or chest l2 and move away from the collar block, and then revert to and return along the original path D as it completes its return to open position.

Lengthening of the clamp rod 28, by adjustment at the threaded joint 21 causes the clamp to contact the bed further away from the collar block. The nuts 44, 45 on the eye bolt are then adjusted higher on the bolt. This permits the rocker arm 38 to travel farther before the toggle knuckle goes over dead center and consequently increases the travel of the bell crank 23 after the clamp engages the bed or buck, resulting in a corresponding increase in horizontal travel of the clamp. Thus, the adjustments described permit very close set-- ting of the parts in correct relation to the collar block and chest of any press to which they may be applied.

It will also be observed, from the relative positions of the manual or handle 40 in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, that the clamp is very quick acting and unusually powerful in its clamping effect. Very little travel of the manual, from A to B, brings the clamp down upon the bed, while its remaining travel of slightly more than a quarter turn or 90 is utilized to produce horizontal clamp motion and the clamping effect.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. A shirt pressing machine of the character described, comprising a stationary frame, cooperating relatively movable head and bed members movable mounted thereon, the head being movable downwardly from open to safe closed position to close the press and the bed being movable upwardly against the closed head to appl final heavy pressure to the work, a neck band supporting block mounted upon the bed, and means for clamping the neck band thereto, comprising an arm pivotally mounted upon the frame and carrying a clamp adapted for embracing and clamping relation with a neck band on said block, means normally biasing said arm toward clamp release position, and manually operated mechanism for turning said arm in one direction to advance the clamp to clamping relation with the block, said mechanism including releasable means effective upon the arm for holding the clamp in clamping position, and means operated by rising bed motion and thereby effective by way of the clamp upon the arm to release the releasable means and permit automatic retraction of said arm to clamp open position.

2. A shirt pressing machine of the character described, comprising a stationary frame, cooperating relatively movable head and bed members movably mounted thereon, the head being movable downwardly from open to safe closed position to close the press and the bed being movable upwardly against the closed head to apply final heavy pressure to the work, a neck band supporting block mounted upon the bed, and releasable means for clamping the neck band thereto, comprising an arm pivotally mounted upon the frame and carrying a clamp adapted for embracing and clamping relation with a neck band on said block, means normally biasing said arm toward clamp open position, and manually operated mechanism for turning said arm in one direction to advance the clamp to clamping relation with the block, said mechanism including yieldable over center toggle mechanism having a knuckle movable across dead center to a holding position as the clamp is advanced to clamping position, said toggle mechanism being so arranged that as the bed rises to apply final pressure to the work consequent rising motion of the clamp with the bed retracts said arm and returns the toggle knuckle across dead center to a position in which the arm is subjected to its bias means and is thereby returned to clamp open position.

3. A shirt pressing machine of the character described, comprising a stationary frame, cooperating relatively movable head and bed members movably mounted thereon, the head being movable downwardly from open to safe closed position to close the press and the bed being movable upwardly against the closed head to apply final heavy pressure to the work, a neck band supporting block mounted upon the bed, and releasable means for clamping the neck band thereto, comprising an arm pivotally mounted upon the frame and carrying a clamp adapted for clamping engagement with a neck band on said block, a manually operatable rocker member also pivoted in said frame, a rod pivotally connected to said rocker member and cooperating as a toggle therewith, a trigger device operatively connected to one of the toggle members, means biasing the toggle members in either direction from dead center, said rod being operatively connected to said arm in such manner that turning motion of said rocker member in one direction advances the toggle across dead center and the trigger device to cocked position and the clamp to a toggle maintained clamping position, and said arm having a portion which moves to a position opposite the trigger device when the clamp is advanced to clamping position, in such manner that initial retracting motion of said arm consequent upon rise of the clamp with the bed as the latter rises to apply final pressure actuates the trigger device and moves the toggle members reversely across dead center to release the clamp for motion to full open position.

EDMUND N. NECKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,937 Bicknell et al Nov. 25, 1947 1,129,161 Binder Feb. 23, 1915 1,233,305 Braley July 17, 1917 1,834,769 Clisson Dec. 1, 1931 1,928,753 Cooper Oct. 3, 1933 1,963,038 Vargo June 13, 1934 2,059,295 Wilhelm Nov. 3, 1936 

